The College of the Siskiyous women's basketball team improved to 11-1 for the year by downing Diablo Valley 61-56 for the championship at a tournament in Monterey on Saturday

Down by eight with around 10 minutes remaining, COS battled back.

A key, head coach Tom Powers said, was the play of point guard Carrie Watson, who had just returned this week after missing two games due to injury. This included hitting a crucial three-pointer with around five minutes remaining. The former Yreka High standout finished with 10 points. Powers said post player Hailey Wales was in foul trouble the end of the first half and in the third quarter, which was a challenge to overcome. He commended his team for the way they came back to earn the win against a good team. Wales finished with 18 points. Brianne Burnside also had 10 points for COS.

On Thursday, Yreka downed Bakersfield 68-50. Anna Cameron had 31 points in the contest. Shyanna Ashworth finished with 17 points. On Friday, COS defeated American River 72-56. Cameron had 25 points and Ashworth had 17. Cameron was named the tournament MVP, while Wales made the all-tournament team.

Currently, the Lady Eagles are ranked No. 4 in Northern California and No. 9 in the state.

Powers said that while the team still has room for improvement, he couldn't be more pleased with the squad's fast start to the season and said it has been "encouraging" to see COS perform the way they have. And, he said, the team has one less loss than they did at this point last season. Last year, COS finished the year 23-4.

The Lady Eagles next play on Dec. 29 at Mission College. After that, COS is at home on Jan. 4 against Porterville at 7 p.m. and on Jan. 5 against Fresno at 1 p.m.

The COS men's basketball team lost on the road to Diablo Valley 94-50 on Friday and to Monterey 66-36 on Saturday. The Eagles next play on Dec. 27 at Columbia.